The Stanford Prison StudyConducted in 1971High awareness of inhumane prison conditions at the time Attica prison riots (1971), 40 deadThe study simulated prison conditions24 participants randomly assigned to be guards or prisonersDifferences in behavior must be attributable to roles, not individual differencesHigh attention to detailParticipants were arrested, booked, made to wear prison outfits, delousedVisiting hours, prison chaplain, parole hearingZimbardo as prison superintendent worked with guards

The Stanford Prison Study - FindingsParticipants took on their roles, enacting extreme behaviorGuards mentally abused prisonersAsked to stripSleep deprivationAsked to make homoerotic advances to one anotherMade to humiliate fellow prisoners who disobeyedSeveral prisoners broke down mentallyOne wanted to break back inOne went on hunger strikeBoth left the study earlyOne became a prison psychiatristDiscontinued after 6 days (intended to last 2 weeks)

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The Stanford Prison Study - ConclusionsUnderscores the “power of the situation”The strong role of situational factors in determining behaviorWe tend to underestimate the PotS, due to the FAEGuards barely used any physical force, didn’t have toThe Thomas Theorem: “If men define situations as real, they are real in their consequences.” (1923)

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